Christ our Advocate and Example

¹My little children, I write these things to y’all so that y’all may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

²And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not just ours, but also for the whole world.

³This is how we know that we have come to know ʜɪᴍ: if we keep ʜɪꜱ commandments.

⁴The one who says, “I know him,” and yet doesn’t keep ʜɪꜱ commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in that person.

⁵But whoever keeps ʜɪꜱ word, the love of God has truly been perfected in them. This is how we know that we are in ʜɪᴍ:

⁶whoever claims to remain in ʜɪᴍ must walk as Jesus walked.

⁷Siblings, I am not writing a new commandment to y’all, but an old one which y’all had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message which y’all heard.

⁸Yet I write a new commandment to y’all which is true in him and in y’all, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines.

⁹Anyone who claims to be in the light and hates their sibling is in the darkness even until now.

¹⁰Anyone who loves their sibling remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in them.

¹¹But anyone who hates their sibling is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.

Reasons for Writing

¹²I write to y’all little children, because y’all’s sins are forgiven because of his name.

¹³I write to y’all fathers, because y’all know ʜɪᴍ who is from the beginning.

I write to y’all young men, because y’all have conquered the evil one.

¹⁴I write to y’all little children, because y’all know the Father.

I have written to y’all fathers, because y’all know ʜɪᴍ who is from the beginning.

I have written to y’all, young men, because y’all are strong,

and the word of God remains in y’all, and y’all have conquered the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵Y’all must not love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in them.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.

¹⁷The world is passing away with its desires, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.

Warnings Against False Teachers

¹⁸Little children, this is the last hour, and as y’all heard that the antiChrist is coming, even now many antiChrists have arisen. This is how we know that it is the final hour.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left, so that they might reveal that none of them belong to us.

²⁰Y’all have an anointing from the Holy One, and y’all all know.

²¹I have not written to y’all because y’all don’t know the truth, but because y’all do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

²²Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antiChrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

²³Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. The one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

²⁴As for y’all, what y’all heard from the beginning must remain in y’all. If what y’all heard from the beginning remains in y’all, y’all will remain in the Son and in the Father.

²⁵And this is what ʜᴇ promised us: eternal life.

²⁶I have written these things to y’all about those who are trying to lead y’all astray.

²⁷As for y’all, the anointing which y’all received from ʜɪᴍ remains in y’all, and y’all don’t need for anyone to teach y’all. But as ʜɪꜱ anointing teaches y’all concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and just as it has taught y’all, y’all remain in ʜɪᴍ.

Children of God

²⁸Now, little children, y’all must continue to abide in him so that when he appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹If y’all know that he is righteous, y’all know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.